Resident Evil Village is the eighth mainline entry in the long-running horror franchise, but that's not all the latest game is notable for. Since the internet first laid eyes on them, Lady Dimitrescu and her trio of daughters have captured the hearts of Resident Evil fans, giving rise to all manner of fan art, memes, and cosplays that undoubtedly cement them as the game's breakout characters—something that Lady Dimitrescu's creator did not expect.
Leading up to Resident Evil Village's launch, there were quite a few questions about these characters: Are they vampires? Why are the daughters made of flies? And, not that anyone's complaining about this, but, why is Lady Dimitrescu so tall? Fortunately, all these questions and more were answered throughout Ethan Winters' informative trip to the titular village.
The Backstory of Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu
Lady Dimitrescu was born into nobility, but that didn't stop her from pursuing other ventures early in life. Before she was the Countess of Castle Dimitrescu, Lady D used to be Miss D—a jazz singer and the namesake of the band, "Miss D & The Pallboys." This hint at Dimitrescu's early life is pretty well hidden, as neither Dimitrescu nor her daughters make reference to her musical career during Ethan's time at the castle; rather, the clue is found inside the Winters residence. One of her band's CDs sits atop a pile of jazz albums in the game's very first area, complete with cover art depicting the titular Miss D in a wide-brimmed hat, surrounded by men playing jazz instruments. But the key takeaway from this easter egg isn't just that she can sing, but that she used to be of average human height.
Resident Evil's internet sensation wouldn't achieve her iconic height until she hit her early 40s following a return to her ancestors' homeland, the Village. Mother Miranda — a cult leader within the Village — had been performing experiments on villagers using the recently-discovered Cadou parasite. Dimitrescu was one such test subject, and the products of Miranda's tests speak for themselves.
The experiment resulted in Lady Dimitrescu becoming the tall, scythe-handed, nigh-invulnerable woman she is today, but there was one catch: The parasite had an adverse reaction with a blood disorder that Dimitrescu had been previously diagnosed with. In order to stay alive, she now had to consume human blood on a regular basis.
Mirroring her physical growth, Lady Dimitrescu also saw heightened social status upon her transformation, being named one of Mother Miranda's Four Lords. She settled down in her historic family home of Castle Dimitrescu, where she helped rule over the Village, while also running a vineyard notable for producing a wine made from the blood of maidens. Like Miranda, Dimitrescu also tinkered with the Cadou parasite, which eventually yielded her three daughters.
Origins of The Dimitrescu Daughters
At one point in time, Lady Dimitrescu and Mother Miranda brought three women—presumably villagers—to Castle Dimitrescu. Little did they know, it would be one fateful trip. The two powerful village leaders incapacitated their guests before infecting all of them with the Cadou parasite, which proceeded to lay eggs inside each individual. Soon enough, the eggs hatched, producing shapeshifting blowflies that slowly devoured the womens' bodies.
While that might have been the end for those three villagers, this was the birth of Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela Dimitrescu. During the flies' harvest, they absorbed each woman's DNA, allowing the bugs to mesh together to form three near-perfect copies of the humans they just ate. Upon observing the trio's newly formed bodies, Dimitrescu took them in as her own, and the family of four would go on to devour flesh, drink blood, and terrorize the denizens of Castle Dimitrescu for over 60 years before meeting their collective demise at the hands of Ethan Winters.
Resident Evil Village is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.